Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 329 Under the Moon

"This year's harvest is really good. I didn't expect to be able to get such good varieties in such a small place. I'm sure I can sell them for a good price in the capital."

"We probably used up all our luck this year by running into that village, otherwise how could we have run into the Fire Kingdom princess's caravan? Fortunately, the general was reasonable enough not to impound our cars, and we should thank God we made it to the capital safely."

"When will this life of wandering around ever end?"

"That depends on what the elder thinks. Didn't he say that wandering like this would be safer?"

It was time to set up camp. The young people, having finished their work, were chatting around the fire, occasionally stirring the food in the pot. The wait for the food to cook felt particularly long; everyone had been traveling all day and busy setting up tents, and were quite hungry.

Campsites are usually chosen at the foot of a mountain, sheltered from the wind; a place surrounded by mountains on two sides is ideal, providing a great sense of security. But a group of ordinary people were unaware that they had been targeted by several uninvited guests.

"Is this really the caravan? I haven't seen many able-bodied men..."

"Why bother with all that? As long as we can present the Grell Stone to Lord Hyde, a mere caravan is nothing."

"Stop dawdling and get to work."

The sounds on the mountaintop ceased, and black shadows emerged from one place, rushing off in two directions. These three individuals surrounded the caravan, seemingly poised to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

The noisy crowd did not notice anything unusual, except for an unusual ferret that lifted its head from the old man's arms and propped itself up to look up.

"What's wrong?" Although the old man kept a ferret, he couldn't connect with this supposedly very old ferret and often had to worry about finding this disobedient pet.

"The moon is so round tonight, it's truly a beautiful sight."

The old man stroked his mustache and looked up at the sky. A bright moon hung high in the valley, accompanied by the sound of the stream, the chirping of insects, and the children dancing and playing around the campfire in the caravan—it was truly a beautiful scene. But as he gazed at it, the flawless moon was suddenly tainted by a shadow. At first, the old man thought it was just a night-flying bird, but the shadow didn't disappear quickly; instead, it grew larger and larger!

No, it's an enemy attack!

Before the old man could shout a warning, the shadow was suddenly blown by a gust of wind to the side of the cliff, and the loud noise finally startled everyone in the camp. But instead of panicking and running away like ordinary people, they calmly gathered together and ran in the opposite direction from the sound.

"How is that possible? I didn't sense any ninjas nearby just now." The woman who was lying in ambush in another escape route cursed. In order to avoid any ninjas escaping, she rushed out without hesitation, and did not forget to call out to her companions who had been slacking off the whole way.

"Timsi! Don't let a single one escape!"

Huge rocks were falling from the sky, about to block the only remaining escape route, but how could this happen? The rocks were disintegrated in mid-air by a gust of evil wind, scattering into countless fragments.

The woman, whose body was exposed, suddenly felt a chill down her back and immediately turned to defend herself. A sudden flying kick landed heavily on her right arm, with considerable force, but not to the point of being unbearable. She squinted and tried to see clearly in the bright moonlight, but could only make out a person dressed in black who was completely covered from head to toe, and a reflective metal plate on the person's forehead.

That symbol is... Konoha? How come there are Konoha ninjas here?

As she pondered and considered her options, she suddenly heard a familiar roar coming from afar. Just from the sound, she knew it was her impatient companion using her trump card.

A majestic black shadow leaped out of a crater on the mountainside, its target pointing directly at a spot on the edge of the camp, very close to where the initial incident had occurred. There shouldn't have been anyone there, but now a white figure stood there conspicuously, like a... giant trap!

"Lanke! Wait!" She finally couldn't help but call out her teammate's name, but her opponent was no pushover either, taking advantage of her distraction to throw a punch at her face.

She could withstand a punch, but what woman doesn't care about her face? She twisted her neck hard, barely managing to avoid a direct hit and only suffering a minor graze from the force of the punch.

In the heat of battle, unexpected turns of events can occur in the blink of an eye. The instant she assumed a defensive stance and created distance, a loud explosion erupted from Rank's direction, indicating that fighting had broken out. Now, all she could do was stall her opponent, pinning her last hope on Timsi, the only one who remained motionless.

"Were you hired by a caravan? Konoha ninjas."

The ninja opposite did not answer directly, but coldly said, "This is the Land of Fire, and it is not your place to be so presumptuous."

"Besides, you should surrender. If you can't get an antidote in time, I'm not sure I can save your life."

what?

It was only after being reminded that she realized something was wrong. The pain spread from the wound on her face, feeling like countless insects were gnawing at her, followed by dizziness. She reacted quickly, immediately activating the gem within her body, which barely dispelled the dizziness, but the pain continued, though it no longer spread.

"Hmm? This is..."

The ninja opposite her was astonished, and everyone who saw her transformed was equally surprised. She didn't actually like this power, but she had to do it to become useful to Lord Hyde.

Grell's Stone can cure all ailments, but this person's poison is so potent that it cannot be neutralized. We must capture him quickly; saving his life is the priority.

"Hand over the antidote!"

She roared, flapped her newly grown wings, and pounced like a wild beast.

Meanwhile, her teammate, whom she thought could hold on a little longer, had already collapsed.

Rank's abilities lean more towards defense and brute force. Charging around in her King Kong form is already her habit, so when she encounters an opponent who combines speed and strength, she is naturally powerless to fight back.

Just as she leaped down, about to collide with the enemy, the white figure suddenly vanished. She felt a tremendous impact on the back of her head, and everything went black before her eyes, and she plunged headfirst into the ground.

"I knew it was strange. So it wasn't your own power after all." The white-clad youth who had knocked his opponent down with a single punch only looked down for a moment before realizing what was going on. He calmly placed a seal on the "gorilla's" back, and in no time, the gorilla transformed back into an ordinary female ninja.

An unidentified ninja with a gem containing immense chakra hidden in his chest... Has he ever encountered such an opponent before?

...I don't remember.